There were some people in the crowd who had been listening to Jesus who came to him and said, "Look at those Galileans that Pilate killed. He even tortured them and mixed their blood with their own sacrifices. They must have been terrible sinners to deserve that!" But Jesus says, "No! They were not any worse sinners than you are, and furthermore, they were not being punished for their sins. Instead of being concerned about the sins of others, look to yourselves! Now is the time to repent from your sins, before your relationship with God is absolutely dead and you have no time left."

Then Jesus continued, "If you had told me about those eighteen people who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them, I would have told you the same thing. Look to yourselves! They were not any worse sinners than you are, and they were not being punished for their sins. Look to yourselves, and repent, before your relationship with God is absolutely dead and you have no time left."

What Jesus addresses here is a favourite past-time for some people: speculating about the sins of others. Somehow it seems to make us feel better if we can point at other people who are obviously much worse sinners than we are. However, Jesus' message is not about other people. Instead, it's about us. At the same time, this passage from Luke (13:1-9 ) both raises and answers a few questions. Do people deserve everything that happens to them? - No. Does God bring calamities upon people in order to punish them for their sins? - No. Do people bring things upon themselves as a result of their sins? - Yes. Are there consequences for sin? - Yes. Is God eager to condemn or eager to have mercy? It is the parable of the fig tree that tells this story.

According to Joachim Jeremias, the fruit of a fig tree was never used until after the first three years of growth. In the case of the tree in the parable, six years had already passed since it was planted, and there still wasn't any fruit. It is hopelessly barren, and is depriving surrounding vines of the nourishment that they need. In addition, manure was not normally used in a vineyard or on a fig tree. This is extra-ordinary attention that is being paid to this tree by the gardener (The Parables of Jesus , pp. 170-171). The gardener is going out of his way in order to give this tree a chance to bear fruit. Normally, a tree like this would simply be cut down.

So what does the fig tree represent? In the Old Testament prophets, the fig tree is often used as a symbol or metaphor for Israel or Judah (Hos. 9:10; Mic. 7:1). God comes wanting to gather the fruit, and there isn't any there (Jer. 8:13). And yet, the parable points to a God who is full of extraordinary patience and mercy. God does not want anybody to perish, and so gives some extra time for repentance and "fruit bearing" to take place! And - just as with Jesus' answers to the people's questions, this message does not point to other people, but to us.

And so, the basic message of today's gospel might be summarized something like this: We have been given the gift of time, and now is the time for repentance and for bearing fruit. Of course, we might want to know just a little bit more about what this actually means for us.

It is interesting to note that usually when we think about repenting of our sins, we think about stopping doing bad things. Well, in the parable of the fig tree, the tree isn't doing anything particularly bad or harmful. Rather, the sin of the fig tree is doing nothing at all! Isn't it true that doing nothing can be just as sinful as doing bad things? The same thing is pointed out in the parable about the king separating the people just like a shepherd would separate the sheep and the goats. In the parable, the people who are condemned didn't do terrible things. They just did nothing at all. They simply didn't bother to feed the hungry or clothe the naked or visit the sick or the prisoners (Mt. 25:31-46 ).

And so, repentance does not mean just stopping doing bad things, but also starting to live as a follower of Jesus. As well, repenting and bearing fruit go hand in hand. Back in chapter 3 of the gospel of Luke, John the Baptist preaches about bearing fruits that are worthy of repentance (3:8). In his preaching, he gives some examples of what repenting and bearing fruit actually mean (3:10-14 ). Those who have food and clothing are to share with those who have nothing. Those who are employed in professions that are full of greed and dishonesty are to be satisfied with their wages and to conduct themselves honestly and with respect for other people.

Of course, there are also other passages in the Scriptures that help us to understand what bearing fruit actually means for us. According to John (15:7-10), bearing fruit means keeping a close relationship with God through prayer and obeying Jesus' commands in our lives. (Especially the commandment to love one another as he has first loved us - Jn. 13:34.) This would go hand in hand with the good works that are spoken of in Colossians as the fruit that we bear (1:10), as well as the honest and truthful life that is described in Matthew (7:16-21). Finally, in Paul's letter to the Romans, he writes about the offering that will be shared with another church that is in need as "fruit" of their faith (15:28), and he thinks of bringing unbelievers to Christ as bearing fruit, too (Rom. 1:13 ).

All of this goes together to give us a picture of what repenting and bearing fruit actually looks like in our lives. All of us are sinful and are in need of repentance. All of us have room for more fruitfulness in our lives. And, all of us have been given the time that we have to spend on this earth directly from the hand of God. The question that is asked by today's gospel reading is how we are using the time that has been given to us. It could come to an end just as quickly as it did for the people crushed by the tower of Siloam or for the people put to death by Pilate. And thus, the time to repent and be fruitful for God is right now !

As we think about this, it is well to keep in mind that God does not expect us to do all this on our own. In fact, God is so gracious that we are given the Holy Spirit, who enables us to repent and to lead fruitful lives. We tend to slip so easily into the language of the law, which steers us away from God's grace. We start thinking, "Well, if we live in this way, then God will reward us and we will be saved." However, the Scriptures point to a God of grace. The language of grace says, "Because God has loved us and saved us through Jesus Christ, therefore we will live as his followers."

Left to ourselves, our sin would convict us and condemn us. Yet, because of the sacrificial death of Jesus and his resurrection, we are set free from the power of sin and death - free to live in love by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is almost like an added bonus that when we do repent - turn our lives around - and live by the power of the Spirit, we discover some other fruit appearing in our lives, too: Things like joy, and peace, and patience, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23 ).

Sure, it might be a lot easier to do nothing, but to live filled with the love of Christ is infinitely worth it! Amen.

Lent 3(C) Luke 13:1-9 March 14, 2004 St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church

? 2004 Lynn Hutchison All Rights Reserved